Mac Naughton resigns from Supervalu

MINNEAPOLIS – Duncan Mac Naughton has resigned as executive vice president of merchandising and marketing at Supervalu Inc.

The food and drug retailer and wholesaler said Monday that the resignation of Mac Naughton, 47, is effective September 28. The company did not give a reason for the resignation.

In July, Supervalu had named Mac Naughton to head its new health and wellness division, which the company formed as a way to better coordinate its pharmacy and health and beauty aids businesses. The announcement of the new division came as Supervalu unveiled key leadership changes as part of a realignment of retail operations.

Supervalu said it's now reviewing internal and external candidates to lead the merchandising and marketing teams as well as execute its business plans. Plans call for the merchandising and marketing functions to report to president and chief executive officer Craig Herkert on an interim basis.

"Duncan has been an integral part of our management team and has helped us lay the foundation for our company's future success," Herkert said in a statement. "We wish him well as he pursues his career interests and ambitions."

Supervalu noted that Herkert, who has extensive experience in merchandising, will work closely with the merchandising team. "We have powerful merchandising and marketing teams that give us the ability to leverage national scale while serving local market preferences," he stated. "I look forward to working directly with our team leaders."

Supervalu has roughly 900 pharmacies among its more than 2,400 supermarkets. The company had overall retail sales of about $34.7 billion for its 2009 fiscal year, including pharmacy revenue of approximately $3 billion.